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Who We Are

The 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group commands the Canadian Ranger patrols that are Canada's army in the remote coastal and inland regions of Northern Ontario and report to the 4th Canadian Divison (4 Cdn Div).

A specialized reserve component of the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Rangers are trained to provide early warning, territorial surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for the Canadian Forces. They are Canada's military presence in Northern Ontario.

In addition, Canadian Rangers provide a range of specialized services to the peoples in their area, including humanitarian assistance, local search and rescue, rapid response for disaster situations, such as aircraft crashes, and support for evacuation in natural emergencies, such as forest fires and floods.

The Canadian Ranger patrols in Northern Ontario are Canada's army in an area almost as large as the combined size of France and Germany.

Patrol members have expertise in the outdoors and an intimate knowledge of their land that is often of crucial value to the Canadian Armed Forces and emergency services.

Canadian Rangers operate in Northern Ontario in an area that begins about 800 kilometres north of Toronto and extends to James Bay, Hudson Bay and the Manitoba border.

It is home to more than 50 000 people, living in 49 First Nation communities. Many of the communities have no year-round road access.

It is a land with more than 1000 polar bears, a caribou herd of more than 16 000 animals and a salt water coastline of 1200 kilometres. It has whales, walruses and seals, as well as moose, deer, wolves and other wildlife.

The land is rugged, demanding and varied, with 40 percent of it permafrost. It has tundra, muskeg and vast areas of forest, as well as some of Canada's largest rivers, all flowing to the Arctic, and thousands of lakes.

The region falls within what the Canadian Armed Forces calls Land Force Central Area, a term for the Canadian army in Ontario. But the nearest regular soldiers are hundreds of kilometres from the remote northern part of the province, which means the Canadian Ranger patrols of 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group are Canada's sole military presence in most of Northern Ontario.

Join Our Team

Contact the Canadian Ranger Sergeant in your community. Information is located under Contact Us